After being recognized by the United Nations and given a seat on the UN council, the first P.R.C. UN delegation arrived in New York. Their arrival was greeted by many reporters and representatives from the 23 sponsoring countries of the UN. They were also well received by the Americans as they entered the UN headquarters in New York.

President Nixon arrived in Beijing as the first American head of state ever to set foot on the Chinese Mainland. Nixon, Kissinger, and others met with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, and at the end of the weeklong visit the two sides issued the Shanghai Communiqué. In this document the United States and China stated their positions on a number of issues, including joint opposition to the Soviet Union, the U.S. intention to withdraw its military from Taiwan, and U.S. support for a “peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question by the Chinese themselves.”

In 1972, The Shanghai Communique of President Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai ended 23 years of isolation between the United States and China. Tucked into a single sentence was a brief reference to cooperation in science and technology (S&T).

The delegation traveled to China with the following goals: studying Chinese wheat research, examine production and distribution methods, observe processing, learn about soil management and to observe Chinese wheat germ plasm.

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Commission Report

Polls show Americans and Chinese are becoming less trustful of each other’s country. The Commission assesses the problem and offers recommendations to foster greater U.S.-China collaboration and understanding.